China-based smartphone vendors together shipped over 150 million smartphones in fourth-quarter 2022, growing 6.6% on quarter but plunging 21.4% on year, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest report detailing China's smartphone industry.

Periscope lenses will be used more frequently in smartphones, a trend that is promising to become prevalent to meet growing demand for upgrades to photography functions, according to sources familiar with operations at optical lens module companies.

Largan Precision, a maker of optical lens modules, expects its revenue to continue declining in February after its sales fell 18.74% sequentially and 13% annually to NT$3.26 billion (US$107.58 million) in the previous month.

Excess 4G handset chip inventories, including application processors and power amplifiers (PA), are dragging down fab utilization rates at related foundries, according to industry sources.

Samsung Electronics has launched its latest flagship Galaxy S23 family products in the Taiwan market, with availability starting on February 24.

Qualcomm and MediaTek are both looking to emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia for growth in mobile SoC sales this year, as overall confidence in the mobile phone supply chain remains low for 2023.

MediaTek has provided a relatively optimistic short-term outlook concerning handset inventory digestion at channels. It has also seen some recovery in non-handset business segments. But MediaTek has stressed that it needs more time to observe the long-term business outlook for the entire 2023, which highlights the uncertainties shrouding the current market.

MediaTek expects to post a further revenue decrease of 6-14% in the first quarter of 2023 after experiencing a nearly 24% sequential revenue decline in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Apple's supplier Jabil reportedly begins making plastic enclosures in India. Samsung Electronics announced to make the latest flagship Galaxy S23 production in India.

Despite still being the smartphone market leader, Samsung is losing to Apple in the high-end market while being pursued by Chinese brands in the mid-to-low tier market. Samsung has hoped that foldable phones can save its business. However, with Samsung's technical capability and customer loyalty both falling, foldable phones haven't performed well and don't appear to be capable of saving the company.

As seen on Apple's latest financial results, the world's largest company by market cap suffered from a weak economy and supply constraints that led to the worst holiday performance for Apple in four years.

Qualcomm has reported revenue declined 12% on year to US$9.5 billion in its fiscal first quarter, with its QCT (Qualcomm CDMA Technologies) business generating nearly US$7.9 billion.

Samsung will manufacture the latest flagship S23 series in India, a move expected to lower the price and hence solidify its top status in India's smartphone market that Samsung just regained in the latest quarter.

Mobile SoC specialist MediaTek will still see headwinds from the handset market challenge its operations in the first half of 2023, according to market sources.

Samsung Electronics has reported record high revenues of KRW302.2 trillion (US$245.7 billion) for 2022, a growth of 8% compared to 2021. But a lot of troubles are brewing behind these impressive figures.

Amid India's push to build a self-reliant manufacturing ecosystem for electronics such as EVs and mobile phones, India seeks to extend exemptions for basic customs duty in the latest budget proposal.

Samsung Electronics may be adjusting its smartphone business strategy, focusing more on the high-end and entry-level devices in a weakening market where maintaining shipment volumes across all segments is no longer feasible.

Taiwan-based makers received export orders totaling US$52.17 billion in December 2022, down 23.2% on year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Samsung Electronics and its rival Apple are expected to compete in the eSIM smartphone market in 2023, a market which is expected to grow from 986 million units in 2023 to 3.5 billion units in 2027.

Due to a weak economy that leads to low demand for electronics, Samsung Electronics posted a sharp fall in its operating profit and expects the business environment to improve in the second half of 2023.

Manu Kumar Jain, the poster boy of Xiaomi India's rise to the top in the world's second-largest smartphone market, has confirmed his leaving Xiaomi when the company faces a series of challenges in India.

Amid Apple's efforts to diversify from China, Apple's US-based suppliers are picking up the pace to manufacture in India as China-based suppliers are still waiting for the Indian government's approval.

Despite caution about its sales performance in the first quarter of this year, Realtek Semiconductor believes 2023 will be another year of growth.

Due to components shortage, rising inflation, and a longer replacement cycle, India's smartphone market has seen a huge drop in shipments in 2022, with China-based vendors impacted the most.

China's smartphone market finished 2022 with an annual shipment of 287 million units, representing an on-year decline of 14% and hitting a 10-year low, according to Canalys Research.